Friendly Match (Soccer Community XI .vs. ECG) Report [5th Sep]

The usual hot afternoon sun greeted the players from both teams as they trod onto the field to commence the soccer match. A good turnout for our team as we had a mix of Pandas and Panthers plus a number of veteran players from CMC and 2 guest players Tim Cheong and Chris (friend of Yuen Wai).

The match kicked off punctually and saw both teams going all out for the opening goal. Play was however scrappy which saw a number of mistimed and over zealous tackles by players from both teams. Play was largely confined to midfield with each team determined to dominate play. Our opponents scored a soft goal 10 mins before half time, courtesy of a bad clearance by our Marcus which saw the ball landing perfectly for the ECG striker to place the ball beyond our keeper. Poor teamwork and communication dogged our team due to a number of new players playing together for the first time. The first half ended 1-0 in ECG`s favour who were the better side in the first half.

Changes were made by Ronnie in the second half and 6 new players were introduced to strengthen the team. Play was confined to the middle of the field and numerous fouls were committed by both sides which kept the referee busy. Against the run of play we managed to equalise late in the second half from a corner kick scored by Barry from CMC. Although normal time was up, the referee allowed an extra 10 mins of play which saw 2 penalties being awarded to ECG during this period due to mistimed tackles from our defenders. Fortunately for us both penalties were poorly taken and not converted. Our team played much better in the second half. The match ended 1 all which indeed was a fair result.

Reported by Ronnie Liew